Sebastian Korda will not join sisters Nelly and Jessica at the Tokyo Olympics.
Korda, a rising 20-year-old, became at least the fourth American male tennis player to say that he will decline an Olympic singles spot.
Korda decided not to play “after careful consideration and with the full support of the USTA,” his agent said Tuesday, confirming a New York Times report that he’s prioritizing domestic tournaments leading up to the U.S. Open.
Korda’s older sisters qualified for the U.S. Olympic golf team. Nelly is ranked No. 1 in the world after winning the Women’s PGA Championship on Sunday. Jessica is No. 13.
The Kordas’ dad, Petr, won the 1998 Australian Open tennis tournament. Their mom, Regina Rajchrtova, played tennis at the 1988 Seoul Olympics for Czechoslovakia.
No U.S. brother and sister have competed in the same Olympics in different sports. Three U.S. siblings have competed in the same Olympics five times, according to Olympic historian Bill Mallon of the OlyMADMen and Olympedia.org.
Korda was ranked fifth among Americans on June 14, the date that the Olympic field is determined via the ATP rankings. A maximum of four players per gender per nation can play in Olympic singles, but Korda moved into the U.S. top four after John Isner and Reilly Opelka said they will not play the Olympics.
Sam Querrey, sixth in U.S. Olympic qualifying, said in January 2020 that he planned to skip the Olympics, too.
The U.S. Olympic tennis team has not been announced, but if Korda, Isner, Opelka and Querrey stick to their plans, then the top four male singles players are Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Frances Tiafoe and Tennys Sandgren.
However, Fritz is committed to an ATP tournament in Atlanta the same week as the Olympic tournament. That would elevate Steve Johnson, but Johnson is also committed to Atlanta. Next in line: Marcos Giron, who was ranked 75th after the French Open but can get into the Olympic singles field of 64 due to a number of international players declining spots.
Paul withdrew before Wimbledon with a foot injury but posted on social media on Tuesday that he is preparing for the Olympics.
OlympicTalk is on Apple News. Favorite us!
